Supporting device.



E. E. CHILDS.

SUPPORTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. II. 1916.

Patented June 5, 1917.

ELMEB. nnnswonrn CHILDS, or LYONS, NEW JERSEY.

sorronrna'c nnvrcn.

Specification dflLettei-s Patent.

Patented June 5, 1917.

, Application filed November 11, 1am. Serial No. 130,706.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EfMER ELLSWORTH CHILos, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Lyons, county of Somerset, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Supporting Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved means for holding a timepiece, such as a watch or a small clock, against a fiat surface so that its position can be adjusted easily and it can be placed in any position at will, being particularly adapted for use on the Windshields of automobiles.

The present invention is designed to permit the placing of a watch or clock on a windshield and place it so as not to interfere with the vision of the driver and to be arranged onthe windshield to conform .to whether the driver sits on the right or left hand side of the car, and furthermore,

the timepiece can be placed so that a slight.

shifting of the eyes will enable the driver of the car to assure himself of the time without diverting his eyes, to any great extent, from the road.

It has been customary to carry watches or small clocks on automobiles, but the usual place of location has been on the dash or underneath the projection from the hood within the dash, which is an inconvenient place for a number of reasons, first on account of the inconvenience in winding a timepiece in such position, such timepieces being removable with difficulty or not removable at all, and second, it diverts the gaze of the driver from the road, when looking at the clock, to an extent to make it even diificult to indirectly see anything on the road ahead. The present invention overcomes these objections, and it has the added advantage of placing the timepiece so that, in the case of a touring car, passengers in the back seat can also see the timepiece, making it unnecessary to ask the driver of the car for the time, which request in turn causes him, as previously set forth, to look from the road, to a considerable extent, to observe a timepiece on the dash.

The present invention is made preferably as a one-piece article and comprises suction cups disposed so as to provide a firm, safe and easily attached or detached means for holding a timepiece on the windshield or,

if desired, in any other convenient position, and hold the timepiece against excessive vibration, thus also preventing rattling noises and at the same time providing enough resiliency to protect the works of the clock or watch from severe jars incidental to the running of the car.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 1s a view of a windshield of a car showing a watchin position on said windshield as it will appear when secured by the improved fastening means. Fig. 2 is a side view of one form of device showing a fragment of the glass of the windshield in section. Fig. 3. is a detail view of the fastening device shown in Fig. 2,-this view showing the device when it is not attached. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing a modified form of construction, and

Fig. 5 is an end view of the device shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a vertical section, detached, of still another modification, and Fig. 7 is a detail of the device shown in Fig. 6, but in position suspending a watch on a pane of glass, part of said pane being shown in section.

The invention comprises, primarily, suction cups placed back to back and suitably secured together, such securing being usually accomplished by making the device in one piece, the material that is preferably employed being rubber, although other suitable materials might be used if found advisable. In such suction cups placed back to back, precaution must be taken against too frail a structure between the suction cups, such frail structure permitting the sagging of the watch or clock out of a vertical plane and incidentally tending to destroy the suction of one of the cups and permittin the detachment of the device from the wlndshield. It will be understood that in this specification when windshield is spoken of, it also embraces other glass plates or similar surfaces against which the device might be used, the windshield being especially mentioned in view of the fact that this device is particularly adapted for such use.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I show a device comprising suction cups 10 and 11 which can be properly proportioned and made of difierent relative sizes, but in these views the suction cup .10 is smaller than the other, the

forcing it, preferably with its edges moistened, against the back of a watch 12, the suctioncup 11 being adapted to besinrilarly attached by pressing it against the plate 13 of the windshield .14. When the device simply consists of two cups arranged back to back in this manner, it is necessary to make the connecting neck 15 thick enough to give sufficient stability to the device to prevent undue shaking or agitation of the clock or watch when it is held in position. If it is desired to reduce the material of the a neck portion, as shown in the modification in Figs. f4: and 5, said neck portion 16, when thus made smaller, is strengthened by any desired form of reinforcing means, these two 1 figures illustrating wires 17 suitably formed and adapted to be molded within the material of the neck and extending part way a into the suction cups of the device, the number of these strands being varied according to the requirements which thedevice is expected to fulfil, the drawing, particularly Fig. 5, showing such wires as being arranged radially and being three in number.

Any other desired number or arrangement can be employed, as will be understood. The

stifiening, whether by such reinforcing suction cups 1-0 and 11 have the neck 18 connecting them provided with an annular collar 19 which is preferably made in the same piece asthe two cups and being thick enough to permit the outer corners 20 of the suction cup to be forced in contact with its outer faces when the suction cups are forced into holding position, as shown in Fi 7. When thus forced into position, any ti ting of the watch is prevented by the presence of this washer which holds the different parts alined by reason of being in contact with the opposed faces of the two suction cups. It will be understood that various other forms ofwa-shers can be used, of any desired cross section or material.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: I p a 1. A holding device forisustaining an article free of anypther support comprising two suction cups arranged p stifliy back to back and substantially in line and connected by a relatively stilt and shortconnecting portion. p v l 2. A holding-means adapted tohold an article without: any other support and adapted to be concealed from the front by the supported article comprising apair of suction cups arranged close together and back to back and with a relatively stifi connecting portion between them.

3. A holding device comprising a pair of suction cups, a neck connecting the cups, and means between the cups against which the backs of the cups are forced when the cups are flattened to a holding position.

4. A holding device comprising a pair of suction cups arranged back to back, a neck between the cups, and a collar on the neck and adapted to prevent undue relative tilt-' ing of the cups by engagement with the backs of the cup.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I

hereto set my hand, this 10th day of November, 1916.

ELMER nLLswoRTH onnms. 

